An event for the more than 10 million overseas Filipinos worldwide
(OFWs) and their relatives in the Philippines is being organized to help turn
them into entrepreneurs by channeling some of their over $21-billion
remittances from mere consumption to investments.
The event, dubbed
Mega Balikbayan/OFW Expo 2013, is in the thick of preparations to
put under one roof all the requirements that the OFWs and their relatives need
to become successful entrepreneurs.
Expo organizer Exlink Events said
close to 500 exhibitors were being targeted to ensure that the multitude of
OFWs, balikbayans and their relatives would have a complete menu of businesses,
knowledge sources, support services and all the enabling mechanisms to achieve
that goal.
“That means gathering all the possible
sources of business opportunities, investment options, service providers,
knowledge and training outfits, banks and other financial institutions, and all
other private and public support agencies, including the DOLE (Department Of
Labor and Employment), POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration),
OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration), DFA (Department of Foreign
Affairs), DTI (Department of Trade & Industry), Board of Investments (BOI),
DOF (Department of Finance), and many others, all catering to the
entrepreneurial needs of the millions of OFWs and their families,” said Exlink
chief executive officer Mitch Ballesteros.
“This expo is designed to make our
OFWs and balikbayans feel like being the real heroes that they are, who can
help transform our economy from being merely consumption driven to strongly
investment led. Obviously, they have
both the numbers and the collective resources to make it happen,” Ballesteros
stressed.
The OFWs, according to POEA data,
number to roughly 9.5 million to 12.5 million, or around 10 to 11 percent of
the country’s total population. This
figure does not include the total number of their relatives that the expo is
also catered to.
Moreover, some 1.7
million OFWs were reportedly awaiting deployment for the first 10 months of
last year, which the POEA said would reflect an 8.6-percent growth year on
year.
For full-year 2012,
the OFWs reportedly remitted more than $21 billion, equivalent to nine percent
of the country’s $224.75-billion gross domestic product in 2011, and 8.5
percent in 2012.
Still, the OFW remittances continue to
grow, always exceeding the government’s target in the past several years.
“Thus, we are dealing with a truly
powerful sector (OFWs) who deserve the best treatment we can offer through the
Mega Balikbayan/OFW Expo,” Ballesteros said.
Now on its 10th year, the
expo includes the OFW Business Summit
and the Outstanding Balikbayan Reputation Awards (OBRA).
Constituting
the expo are three components – 1) MEGA INVEST presenting investment
opportunities in various fields such as real estate and property,
manufacturing, support technologies,
agri-aqua business, retail and wholesale distributorships, service outlets, and
many others; 2) MEGA EXPERIENCE offering
various holiday destinations, health and wellness products and services, food
and beverages, and pets and hobbies; and 3) MEGA SHOP for discounted items,
online sellers, souvenir items and regional products.
The
Mega Balikbayan/OFW Expo is slated at the SMX Convention Center on December 11
to 12. More
information about the event can be obtained from Exlink Events (tel: 632
6433887; mobile: 0920 9242532, 0920 9814376; email: info@exlinkevents.com; or
visit www.exlinkevents.com).
- Monday, August 19, 2013
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